Flint & Genesee has always been home to great sports teams, and among them is the Flint Rogues Rugby Club, which dates back to the 1970s. The club has made Flint their home from the very beginning.

The long history of the club started in 1972 when the founding members, Larry Marfechuk and Jim Keener began what was to become the Flint Rogues Rugby Football Club. Both men had an interest in rugby, a sport that was popular in Europe and on the East Coast of the United States. At the time of the club’s founding, the sport didn’t have much representation in the state of Michigan, making the Flint club one of the state’s earliest. The Flint Rogues are a member of USA Rugby, Division III Midwest Rugby Eastern Conference, Northern League, as well as Division III of the Michigan Rugby Football Union.

Rugby is a full-contact sport that features two teams of 15 players, with the objective of scoring by a try (touching the ball down over the try line), drop goal, or penalty kick through the goal posts. It’s a fast-paced game, which only stops for scores, fouls, or out-of-bounds. It’s that constant action that has drawn many players, like its current president, insurance agent Rob Moquin.

Moquin has been with the team since the fall of 1982. He first learned of the Rogues after meeting some of the players gathered at a local bar.

“We walked in, and immediately I saw a guy on a pool table, a pitcher of beer in one hand and one of the waitresses on the other, and he was dancing to the song ‘Elvira’,” Moquin recalls. “The guy was dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, and he had his socks up to his knees.”

After a brief encounter with another man dressed in the same attire, Moquin learned that the two played rugby locally, which piqued his interest.

“And it’s been downhill ever since,” Moquin jokes.

Moquin joined the regular practices that the Rogues held and played his first match that October, and played for 35 years after, until retiring from play at 55 and becoming the president of the club. His passion for the sport and the club is shared by the club’s members.

“We’ve had a number of players over the years from all over the world, from England, Ireland, Wales, and Kenya,” says Moquin. “We’re always looking for new people, new or old; it doesn’t matter. We are always trying to promote rugby. Even though we’ve been here for over 50 years, there aren’t a lot of people who know Flint has a rugby club.”

“The contact, the physicality of the sport, is what drew me to it. The physicality was just what I was looking for,” Moquin says. “It’s a sport for all players and all sizes. There’s a position for everyone.”

Since its founding, the club has been dedicated to Flint and bringing Rugby to the area, and with many of its team members having worked at GM in the past, it made sense.

“We love the city of Flint.”

GM workers aren’t the only ones who have found their way to the Rogues, though. Over the years, the club has welcomed a diverse range of individuals, including lawyers, dentists, law enforcement personnel, college students, firefighters, and more. As Moquin says, if you are interested, they will find a place for you. Whether you are interested in learning more about the team as something you may want to try out, or just want to see one of their matches, the club welcomes everyone.

Flint & Genesee has a long and rich history with sports and sports figures, and that passion remains evident in teams like the Flint Rogues Rugby Club.

“An amazing part of playing rugby is that you make lifelong friends, not just in the club you're in, but from the other clubs that you play. Rugby is a sport for everyone,” Moquin concludes.

Practices for the club are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Longway Park (2490 N. Averill Ave., Flint), where they also conduct their home field matches. Matches are on Saturdays, usually at 1 p.m.

For more information about the Flint Rogues, visit their website at https://www.flintrugby.net/.

The Rogues aren’t the only sports team in the area, though. If you are interested in historic baseball, you can watch the Lumber City Base Ball Club, which plays the game as it was played when it was first invented. The Flint City Bucks, the newest sports team in the area, quickly made their presence known by playing championship soccer at Atwood Stadium. If you are interested in another full-contact sport, check out Flint Roller Derby. On the ice, you can check out the Flint Firebirds in the fall and winter at the Dort Financial Center.